Race Recapping: Murfreesboro Middle Half Marathon

In my quest to continue on my "race a month" for 2014, and hearing that so many of my friends had previously run the Murfreesboro Middle Half, I decided to stalk the website for that race registration.  Sounds dark and creepy, but hear me out.  This is a small race, only about 3,200 runner can participate, well below the 35,000 number that run the St. Jude Country Music Marathon in Nashville in the spring.  And since the course is relatively flat, many people run it in order to set a new personal record.  

So on the morning the registration opened, I had my computer window open and ready to go at 10am.  Of course, my eldest son decided to close it--AGH!!!  But I was able to get a spot!  It does sell out within the first 24 hours, so I texted my friends about my excitement of getting in, which was a blessing since they had forgot that it had opened!  Whoops---but they were able to secure their spot as well.

Since there was no formal Fleet Feet training for this particular race, I toughed it out and did my training by myself. It was no pretty.  At all.  There was running. There were tears.  There was pleading with Joel to take my registration and run in my place. (Easy cop out since you can transfer from one runner to another for a small transaction fee).  But he stood fast, and by myself and he would not let me quit.

Race day came, and I left my 'rents house way before the sun even thought about getting up.  The whole week my group and I checked the weather forecast and it called for rain.  All day.  Awesomesauce. Just what a runner likes to hear. Luckily, the forecasters were off, and it turned out to be a cool, overcast day with intermittent sprinkles during the race.

"The Gang" (Tony, Ken, Cathy, Richel, Carolina and I) met at the MTSU Stadium, where the race would eventually finish.  The starting line was adjacent to the stadium, and we lined up where we thought we should be--not in the front, but definitely not too far back.  Carolina, Richel and I ran together, then Richel dropped back, then I dropped back and Richel sped up. Tony was trying to beat his previous PR, and so we finished at different times.  But we finished, and met at the finish line, which is how friends who race with friends do it.

Of course I smiled! I'm not tired at all! HA!

I FINISHED!

No PR for this race, but considering I did not train as hard as I did my for Country Music Half, I was very happy to only be 2 minutes slower than that race.  Final time--2:39:44.  Hmmmm, wondering if I should hang up my sneakers, so should I try for another half marathon? No full marathon for me, I'm only half crazy.

We made it!

Selfie!